Old Goat Fruit Salsa, Tomato Jam & Rum Raisin Sauce

A Sweet Line Punctuated By Sweet-Faced Labels

CAPSULE REPORT: Like sweet fruit salsa? Like adorable pygmy goats? Here’s the salsa for you. The line has four mascots: pygmy goat triplets and their canine “brother.” Together, they dish out nice, sweet-and-spicy salsas and an outstanding rum raisin sauce for ham, dessert or whatever you can find an excuse to put it on.

The Szareks have a greenhouse in Clinton, New York, where they grow tomatoes and herbs. Some of their produce goes into their own line, under the Old Goat label. Today, three pygmy goat triplets—Spike, Vinca and Violet—are the honorees. Each goat has a salsa named after it, based on, according to the Szareks, their personalities (Vinca being very sweet, Violet a moderate and Spike, well, hot and ornery).

There’s also a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Baylee, the official “goat herder.” He gets the best deal of all: Our favorite product is named after him! More about that in a moment.

The Szareks grow their tomatoes and herbs in a greenhouse, without the use of pesticides. Their products, with their sweet labels, will be popular with food lovers and animal lovers alike.

Baylee’s Old Goat Drunk’n Raisin Sauce

While the majority of the Old Goat Line comprises fruit salsa, our favorite product is the magnificent Drunk’n Raisin Sauce. Redolent of rum and raisins (dark and gold) in a buttery orange base, this it the product we’ll buy by the case for house gifts and stocking stuffers. Thick as a compote, it is a universal accompaniment for:

Fowl, ham and pork

Pound cake and ice cream (either/or, or make a pound cake à la mode with Drunk’n Raisin Sauce on top and a bit of whipped cream)

Pancakes

Toast and English muffins

Once you taste it, you’ll come up with many more pairings.

Baylee is never drunk, he assures us—but he loves this Drunk’n Raisin Sauce.

Buy these sweet salsas so this sweet-faced goat
will keep smiling.

Old Goat Fruit Salsa

The Szareks make three chunky fruit salsas with different heat levels. The ingredients are tomatoes, onions, apples, peaches, pears, green pepper, vinegar, salt and seasonings.

Vinca’s Sweet Old Goat Salsa is purely sweet, nothing spicy. It’s a good salsa for younger children who don’t like hot stuff. Otherwise, we recommend moving up to something spicier.

Violet’s Medium Old Goat Salsa adds some habañero chiles—but this is relatively mild, New York State heat, not Southwest heat. If you don’t like your salsa any hotter than mild, you’ll be happy with this.

Spike’s Hot Old Goat Salsa has more habañero and a medium heat level—and that’s fine with us. There’s a bit of a kick, yet your taste buds are preserved so you can taste the individual ingredients.

Violet’s Tomato & Basil Jam

The Szareks make a jam with tomatoes from their garden and fresh basil. We like the flavor of the jam very much, although it’s a bit too thin to be a proper bread spread. (Of course, to quote “Project Runway’s” Tim Gunn, you can make it work.)

It works better as a sauce. If you like sweet-and-sour sauce, this is (unintentionally) a gourmet approximation of it. With its sweet and savory profile, you can use it as a condiment with fish, fowl and pork, or as a dipping sauce.

The line gives new meanings to the words, “got your goat.” Get yours, and get some for gifts.

The family. Are the other animals jealous because Violet has two products named in her honor?

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